Judge closes courtroom as ex-Armada teacher bound over for trial on sex charges

Robert Yaek stands with his attorney Paul Stablein at a preliminary hearing in 42-1 court. The former Armada Area Schools teacher was bound over on six charges, including two felony counts of criminal sexual conduct.

Former Armada Middle School teacher Robert Yaek was bound over for trial Tuesday on six of seven charges sought by prosecutors who accuse him of having sex with a female student.

Judge Denis LeDuc of the 42-1 District Court closed the proceedings to the public at the preliminary exam while he heard testimony from the 13-year-old alleged victim. He cited Michigan judicial statutes in ordering two media representatives out of the courtroom.

LeDuc said due to the “age of the witness and the nature of the charges here and the nature of the alleged relationship” he took it upon himself to close the hearing to all but those necessary to the case.

Yaek surrendered to police on June 6 and was charged on seven counts, including three felony criminal sexual conduct charges.

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One of those counts was dropped on Tuesday while the other two were amended by Macomb County Assistant Prosecutor Brian Surma. The first-degree criminal sexual conduct charges alleged sexual penetration and carries a punishment of life in prison. The first degree charges remain in place but were amended to oral sexual contact between Yaek and his accuser.

He also is charged with two counts of using a computer to commit a crime, a 4-year felony; one count of possession of child sexually abusive material, also punishable by up to four years in prison; and distributing sexually explicit material to children, a 2-year offense.

The counts of possession of abusive material and using a computer to commit the crime were immediately waived by both sides and will be adjudicated at Circuit Court in Mount Clemens on July 21 along with the remaining charges.

When court was reconvened after the testimony of the minor, a few details of the investigation and the closed session were revealed.

Yaek’s defense attorney, Paul Stablein, said the testimony given before LeDuc by the girl was inherently the same as an interview done at Care House in Mount Clemens “shortly after” the allegations were made. Care House is a facility that helps coordinate the investigation, prosecution, and treatment services to victims of child sexual and physical abuse.

Stablein said there was never any intercourse between Yaek and the victim and that “nothing happened other than hugging and kissing.”

He said that facts stated at that interview differed from an interview given ten days later at the Macomb County Prosecutor’s office conducted by the officer in charge of the case, Armada Detective James Sharp.

Stablein added based on the fact that she was “intimidated” by her surroundings, “she told them (investigators) in essence what they wanted to hear.”

In presenting his case to have all remaining counts bound over for trial, Surma said evidence turned over to the Michigan State Police Crime Lab showed DNA from both parties were found in a room adjacent to Yaek’s classroom at Armada Middle School where the alleged victim had him for a one hour class each day.

No other lab results were mentioned.

Surma also said the pair exchanged “thousands” of emails, some that included explicit photos. Yaek has already been accused of sending explicit photos of himself to the victim on his cellphone.

Stablein said after the hearing the victim stated under oath that no intercourse had taken place was a “huge revelation” and defended Yaek against the charges.

“It has been my position from the get-go that Mr. Yaek is innocent of these charges and I think a lot of that was borne out today,” he said. “The facts have changed considerably since this allegation was made public.”

“The fact is, this student is attempting to tell the truth and yet other individuals are trying to create a case that doesn’t exist,” he later added

Surma admitted that “things sometimes come out differently especially when you are talking about a child witness,” but remained confident in his case against Yaek.

“I feel the case is strong and our case is charged properly,” he said after the hearing. “The physical evidence and the vast amounts of communication between the two parties are going to support the case as it is currently charged.”

After the charges were first filed, Macomb County Prosecutor Eric Smith said the alleged sexual encounters between Yaek and the student occurred between February and May of this year.

Another fact that came out during the hearing verified what Armada Police Chief Howard Smith had previously stated, that sexual contact had taken place at a residence in Richmond Township where Yaek was house-sitting.

Surma said Yaek took the alleged victim to the residence in the backseat of a car with tinted windows in order for her not to been seen, adding the liaison was “planned” by the pair.

Yaek was hired by the Armada Area Schools district in October 2011 and taught eighth-grade math and science classes as well as science to seventh-graders this year.

School officials immediately removed Yaek from the classroom after the allegations surfaced in May and Yaek resigned two days later.

Stablein closed the hearing by requesting Yaek’s bail be changed based on the evidence presented in court. LeDuc denied the request.

Yaek remains incarcerated at the Macomb County Jail in lieu of $400,000 bond.